BioMed Alliance members & COVID-19

The COVID-19 Pandemic has all elements to become one of the biggest health challenges that EU health systems and societies have faced in the past years. In these precarious times, the BioMed Alliance is closely following the developments related to COVID-19 in Europe. We urge everyone to take precautions and to follow the advice of the relevant authorities.

We applaud the efforts of health professionals and researchers around Europe and the rest of the world to contain this crisis. They should receive all the necessary support from policy makers, authorities and the public.

Consequences for health research

Pan-European cooperation is now even more important than before. Experts across Europe are jointly engaging in research on COVID-19 but face practical barriers, for example when it comes to the GDPR application and cross-border data sharing (see EDPB statement). At the same time, the current situation makes it more difficult for researchers to cooperate with their peers in consortia and submit grant applications before the planned deadlines. Therefore, we welcome efforts of the European Commission to postpone upcoming Horizon 2020 deadlines (see the EBC Statement on this topic).

Consequences for continuing medical education

The medical and research societies that health professionals rely on for up-to-date information on clinical practice are facing serious challenges. As medical congresses are being cancelled or postponed, not-for-profit societies are faced with substantial costs that may threaten their existence and thus their ability to provide clinical guidance to health professionals. Therefore, the Biomedical Alliance in Europe calls on the EU and Member States to support medical societies to ensure they can continue providing their services now and in the future.

Read the letter to President von der Leyen here and the statement here

Upcoming BioMed Alliance Meetings

The BioMed Alliance leadership has decided that all face-to-face meetings that were planned in Spring 2020 will take place online. As an active player in the health field, and an organisation that represents health professionals, the leadership concluded that under the current circumstances it would be irresponsible to bring groups of people active in the health field together. We will continue monitoring the situation to see how to proceed with events organised later in the year.

This means that the Spring Meeting on 13 May will be converted into a teleconference. For more information, please contact the BioMed Alliance office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The EU Health Summit, in which the BioMed Alliance is an active partner, was supposed to take place on 4 and 5 May 2020 and is also postponed. A new date will be announced at a later stage.

BioMed Alliance members’ efforts to help the fight against COVID-19

Our members are also making an important contribution, they share valuable information about COVID-19 through their respective communication channels and carefully assess which precautions are necessary while carrying out their activities.

Examples of the resources that BioMed Alliance Members provide:

European Academy of Neurology (EAN)

EAN has released a range of resources including EANcore CoVID-19, which intends to help neurologists manage the challenges resulting from the pandemic by providing an overview of up to date information and data, guidelines, research, news etc. For example, EAN published guidelines for Immunotherapy for patients with neuroimmunological disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO)

EASO has dedicated an entire section of its website to COVID-19. They provide access to a range of resources on COVID-19 including: infographics providing guidance for people living with obesity on how to manage during COVID-19 isolation, reputable sources on the linkages between obesity and high risk of severity of COVID-19 symptoms and general information on COVID-19 and obesity.

European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL)

EASL dedicated a special page to resources on COVID-19 and the liver. They e.g. provide links to the COVID-Hep registry, communication activities and published a joint statement with ESCMID providing recommendations on the care for patients with liver diseases and liver transplant recipients.

European Brain Council (EBC)

European CanCer Organisation (ECCO)

ECCO has a page on its website dedicated to COVID-19, providing a link to a statement raising awareness on the needs of cancer patients and the functioning of Europe’s scientific, healthcare professional education and patient association sector. They also published an overview of all resources on COVID-19 that their members have released.

European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS)

EFIS President Prof. Andreas Radbruch released a statement on the COVID-19 pandemic describing the current situation and the approach taken to contain it. He refers to EFIS efforts and resources related to the virus and provides links to relevant other initiatives.

European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)

EULAR has a specific repository on rheumatism and COVID-19 providing guidance, useful resources and links. They also created a special EULAR - COVID-19 Database to monitor and report on outcomes of COVID-19 occurring in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs)

EULAR has also released several statements, e.g. a statement calling on governments to support the most vulnerable patients in Europe, a statement on the application of anti-malarials and a statement on medicine shortages.

ERA-EDTA is also collecting data among all dialysis and transplant centres in Europe to evaluate what all countries in Europe are doing for their patients on dialysis or kidney transplant in order to do a best practice analysis. In addition, they organise a series of webinars linked to the experience in European hospitals related to the daily practice in dialysis and transplant wards.

European Respiratory Society (ERS)

The ERS has dedicated an entire section of its website to COVID-19. They provide access to a range of resources on COVID-19 including: webinars, publications, research summaries and Q&As. They also share stories from healthcare workers and have a COVID-19 Community Forum where the healthcare community can connect and discuss.

European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA)

ESA showcases a range of resources related to COVID-19 on its website including webinars, toolkits, useful data, guidelines and other relevant materials and links. The materials provide useful information and guidance to health professionals that care for COVID-19 patients and there is also information on the latest developments around the virus.

European Society of Cardiology (ESC)

The ESC has dedicated a special section of its website to COVID-19 and cardiology, providing an overview of video materials, insights from the front line, relevant articles and statements and other resources.

European Society for Endocrinology (ESE)

ESE has a dedicated page on its website on COVID-19 and endocrine disease, including relevant statements, a ‘decalogue’ for endocrinology in the COVID-19 pandemic and links to general, as well as endocrine-related, resources.

European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE)

ESHRE has established a working group on COVID-19 to track the latest scientific information related to reproductive medicine, pregnancy and newborns and respond to questions from professionals and patients. They provide links to relevant resources and e.g. provide a specific statement on assisted reproduction and COVID-19.

European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM)

The ESICM has also dedicated a section of its website to COVID-19 where the organisation shares key online resources for health professionals. The page contains a range of materials including guidelines for the treatment of COVID-19, educational material & courses, interviews, webinars, relevant articles and other reading materials and links.

European Society of Pathology (ESP)

ESP has published a ‘Knowledge Focus’ page, which provides scientific information on COVID-19, including recent research papers, guidance and recommendations from the scientific community across the globe.

European Society of Pediatric Research (ESPR)

ESPR provides several COVID-19 related resources including recommendations for neonatal and paediatric retrievals of positive or suspected COVID-19 infants and children.

The ESPR’s journal ‘Pediatric Research’ has invited health professional to share their experiences with COVID-19. The objective is to share this information rapidly with the journal’s readership. All page charges will be waived and the articles will be freely accessible via the Journal’s website.

Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS)

FEBS features COVID-19-related articles on the ‘FEBS Network’, particularly on teaching resources and biochemistry-related research. The Italian Federation of Life Science Societies (FISV), a grouping including one of the members of FEBS, has released a letter to the scientific community calling for a common European Policy against COVID-19 spread.

United European Gastroenterology (UEG)

UEG provides COVID-19 scientific information for the digestive health community on its website. They provide a link to their webinar on COVID-19 & Digestive Health and provide a list of links related to related news, society information, registries, scientific articles and resource centres.